Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti believes John Terry has the full backing of the Stamford Bridge dressing room despite revelations about his private life.

As far as the Italian is concerned, Terry remains a valuable member of the squad and when asked if he still had the backing of the players, Ancelotti replied: “I think so.

“John speaks with his team-mates because he's the captain of this team. He is focusing on his job. He's doing very well every day, every moment. He's the captain of this team so, with his behaviour, he's doing his best for this team.

“I'm not interested in the private lives of the players. In the past some coaches phoned home to control their players, but I never did this in my career and I won't in the future.

“I'm only interested in the players at the training ground and to control behaviour at the training ground. Private lives are an important thing — they should remain private.”

Ancelotti is fiercely supportive of his captain and maintains there was never any question of leaving Terry out of Sunday's showdown with Arsenal.

“John knows he has to play against Arsenal, he's our captain. I did not consider resting him. John has to play because he's one of the most important players in this team,” he added.